"I had surgery on my eye when I was younger," said Richard, a registered patient who spends hundreds each week on medical marijuana. "I get migraines."

But he said the blunts he smokes eliminate the symptoms.

"Yeah, it works," Richard said. "I wouldn't keep smoking it if it didn't work good."

So which patients will get access in Massachusetts? Right now, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health lists people with debilitating diseases like cancer, ALS and multiple sclerosis, but it is considering other conditions, including sleep disorders like insomnia.

Harcourt said people who are against medical marijuana need to have more empathy for those who truly need it.

"I would say walk a day in my shoes," he said. "And then tell me how much you're opposed against it."

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